Posts Tagged ‘Home-based Business’

Small Business Credit Cards

February 23rd, 2010

In today’s economy, small businesses play an important role.  These days, it is easier than it ever has been to start a new small business.  There are all kinds of new businesses popping up all over the United States, from department stores to gas stations.  With new businesses on the rise, the owners should be looking into small business credit cards – for numerous reasons.

The best reason to get a small business credit card is for separating your personal finances from any business related finances.  Once you have a small business credit card, you can start making all of your purchases via Internet, phone, or in person.  Business credit cards are accepted virtually everywhere, which is great for those who need equipment or supplies in a hurry.

If you own a small business, you’ve probably experimented with using your personal cash for company purposes.  This can get ugly in a hurry, which is why you should invest in a credit card for your small business.  You can make purchases without having to worry about cash, then pay it back later.  You won’t need to keep track of everything either – as you statement will be mailed to you at the end of the month, letting you know exactly how much you spent.

A small business credit card is also a great way to establish some credibility with your business as well.  When you pay with your credit card, it looks a lot more professional than using cash to make your purchases.  It will gain the respect of financial companies, and help your business build some credit as well.  After you have had a credit card in good standing for a few months, you’ll be able to apply for a small business loan and get the best rates – along with the higher amounts.

Even though your business may not have a 6 figure income or budget, small business credit cards can still help your business grow and prosper.  Credit cards are always great to have, simply for the fact that you never know when you need money.  Your office equipment may crash and need replacing, or another emergency may come up.  If you don’t have a credit card for your business, the financing alone could shatter your daily operations.

Small business credit cards will also give you plenty of rewards as well.  Most cards will give you cash aback and certain rewards on just about anything you purchase.  From gas to equipment, you can get rewards simply for using your credit card.  You can increase your profit margin as well, which is always a great thing.  If you have other workers who are authorized to use your credit card, you’ll get more rewards – and much faster as well.  This is also easier on your business, as your workers will be able to get what they need, when they need it.

All in all, small business credit cards are always great to have around.  They will provide your business with rewards and convenience, eliminating the need to use cash with each purchase you make.  These cards will also protect the future of your business, and allow it to grow.  If you own a small business, you shouldn’t hesitate to look into these credit cards.  Once you have found the best credit card for your company, you shouldn’t hesitate to apply.  Credit cards are always great to have around – even if your business is just getting started.  Before you know it, your small business credit cards will more than pay for themselves.

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3 Pillars of a Solid Home Based Business

November 28th, 2009

In this day and age it is almost impossible to maintain a decent standard of living on one paycheck, but in a family where children are involved it is not always feasible for both dad and mom to have a job outside of the home.  Daycare expenses, the need for a second car, and too much time away from the children are some common drawbacks.  This however is the exact situation that a Home Based Business works to its greatest advantage.

Home Based Businesses are great and can be extremely profitable but without the proper knowledge and tools you can waste an incredible amount of time and/or money which defeats the purpose you started out with, namely to make money and have time to do the things you want to do. This article was written to give the average person like you and I a practical guideline to getting started in a home based business the right way, and to save you wasted time and money.

My experience has shown me that there are basically 3 main pillars or principles of a solid home based business.

Pillar #1: It must have minimal start up cost.

A home based business that has a high start up cost will take longer to see a profit, and as we said earlier, time is one of the things we are trying to cut down on. Minimal cost will also make the home based business more assessable to a larger amount of families or individuals who are just starting out.

Pillar #2: It must be easy to set up and maintain.

The more complicated your home business project, no matter what it is, the more likely you are to give up out of sheer frustration before you see a profit. A business that is easy to set up and maintain will give you confidence and a sense of accomplishment as you complete each simple step in the process.

Let’s face it if you enjoyed wasting a lot of time and effort maintaining a home based business you would not be reading this article. This is about freeing you to spend time with your family and doing the things you love, not creating another taskmaster to replace your job! The first two pillars of a solid home based business are necessary for the third to occur.

Pillar #3: It must have a quick return on investment. (ROI)

You can spend months building a home based business but it there is never any real profit generated in a reasonable amount of time many people may get discouraged and give up. What is a reasonable amount of time? I would plan for a time frame on the order of weeks instead of months. Depending on the type of home based business some people have had a decent ROI within days, and unbelievable as it may sound some businesses that deal with affiliate marketing and sales can see profit as early as 15 minutes from startup!

You may be thinking to yourself “that’s too simple!” Let me say that within these 3 pillars there is plenty of detail to keep anyone busy. The business that you choose to start should definitely be something that interests you and possibly even something that you already have a measure of experience in doing. Whatever home based business you get involved in make sure that it is propped up by the 3 pillars listed in this article. Do not make the mistake of overcomplicating your efforts or you will see very quickly that you will get bogged down with a lot of needlessly wasted time and effort.

Here’s to your home based business success.

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Steps in Small Home-Based Businesses

November 22nd, 2009

In Australia, 60% of small businesses fail within the first twelve months. For anyone wanting to start a small business — maybe even work from home — that statistic seems daunting. Don’t be discouraged! Read about five simple business principles that can help you to succeed. With a little time and some serious research you can hit the ground running. Let’s start from the beginning…

The bright idea

First, of course, you need to come up with an idea. Typically, business opportunities can be divided into four groups:

1. Offering an existing product/service in an existing market.
2. Introducing an existing product/service to a new market.
3. Offering a new product/service in an existing market
4. Introducing a new product/service to a new market.

At this stage of the game the only limit is your imagination. Inspiration can come from anywhere — maybe you have a hobby that you’d like to turn into a full-time job; you may be on the receiving end of bad service one day and decide to try doing it better yourself; or you may have a talent that you’d like to capitalise on.

Once you’ve come across something that you’d like to do, it’s time to take a look at the market and see what’s on offer.

Passing the test

So you’ve had a great idea and you’re keen to roll with it; now it’s time to put it through its paces. For the purpose of the exercise, let’s say that you have a passion for healthy living, and that you want to distribute a range of lifestyle accessories that promote healthy living with a do-it-yourself approach.

Ask around: Is there a market for products that promote healthy living? What sorts of products are available? Who would you be competing with and what do your competitors offer? Do you have the necessary skills to run such a business and — more to the point — what would those skills be? Where would your business be located?

Once you’ve answered those questions you should have a fairly clear picture of what your business will look like.

You source some products and decide to do some further research into the range of lifestyle products offered by a company called Vitality 4 Life. Your own life experience plus some work you’ve done as a dietician has given you the necessary skill sets, and you think that you’ll be able to work from home, giving you more time for family. There is an existing market, but there’s room for expansion. Now it’s time to take a closer look.

To be or not to be?

It’s time to get down to the nuts and bolts. You don’t want to jump into something feet first and find out the hard way that the budget just doesn’t work.

To get started, sit down and work out if you need to hire staff, which means paying wages.

If you lease a premises you’ll need to be able to pay the rent, and your location will have to be suitable for your business and target market (which also means that you’ll have to think carefully about just what that target market is). You’ll also need to work out the likely demand for your product/service.

Ok… you’ve worked out that there is enough demand for good quality juicers, sprouters, water filters and other high end accessories to take a shot at a distributorship as a home-based business opportunity. Now you need to make some marketing decisions.

Look at me! Look at me!

Advertising can be costly so you’ll want to be sure that your advertising budget is spent wisely. That means more market research, this time one-on-one. Profile your customer groups so you can aim your marketing at the right group/s of people.

Draw up a questionnaire (a short questionnaire — people run out patience if you ramble for too long) and hang around outside a few of the local gyms (for our particular example). Come up with a mixture of open questions (What do you think of……..?) and closed questions (Do you have a gym membership? Yes/No.); sliding scales can be useful too.

For our health accessories business, a good question might be ‘How did you hear about this gym? Radio, tv, newspaper, word of mouth etc…’ Such a question would then give you an indication of the types of media that your target group responds best to.

Choose a business name, print up some business cards, buy some stock and get ready to trade!

Measure it, manage it!

A teacher of mine made the point that, in business, if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it.

You need to be able to plan ahead, and to do that you need to know — or to be able to accurately predict — your total sales. The equation is simple: number of customers x average sale x frequency of visits per customer per year = total sales. Remember it, revise it often, measure your business and you’ll be able to manage it!

Keep an eye on your bottom line and, most importantly, always be aware of your cash flow — the cold, hard cash that you have in the bank. Allow for invoice periods (14 days, 30 days etc) when you’re planning your budget.

The market place has a life of its own, and no one can prepare for every contingency. Put some thought into your idea; make sure that there’s a market for what you’re offering; research, research, research; promote your business effectively; always know what’s going on in your bank account and don’t forget about cash flow!

It’s not perfect but, if you follow these few simple steps, you’ll be miles ahead of many new small business ventures. If you’ve heard of a great home-based business opportunity, or have a product or service of your own to market, you’re off to a great start!

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3 Essential Boundaries for Mom Entrepreneurs and Their Husbands

October 27th, 2009

In the beginning, I thought it was going to be a breeze when my husband, Terry, joined me working full-time in my business.  If anyone could do it, we could!  We already had a healthy relationship built on trust and respect.  We communicated well.  We both strongly believed in what we were doing.  We understood the need to help each other with the children, keeping the house, and with the business.  We planned to allow for fluctuations in income to keep stresses over money to a minimum.  Yet I still wasn’t prepared.

For anyone considering working with your spouse, here are 3 Essential Boundaries for Entrepreneurial Couples to help to ease your transition:

1. Clarify expectations for work/home.
Nothing can prepare you for the blurring of boundaries and turf that occur as you transition into working together.  When you join together with your spouse, most likely, both of you have experienced success throughout your careers, and have developed your own working style.  Suddenly you have a whole new dynamic in your relationship with your spouse you must learn to work through.  I always knew that we had different gifts and talents:  Terry is very techie and he loves to write, and I am a people person who is an administrative whiz.  Even though I should have probably seen it coming, I was still surprised at the difference in our work styles.  I multi-task all day long, and he prefers to work on one project at a time.  Just like being newlyweds all over again, we had to put some effort into getting to know each other on a whole new level to be able to work well together.

Beth Butler, creator of the Boca Beth Program has some helpful tips for clarifying expectations with your spouse.  “I make us lunch each day and we try to talk about BOCA BETH items that are pressing.  It’s our time to reconnect – he works from home for the wine company he represents and I work from home sharing my passion for second language learning with young children.  A funny mix, but it works!  We talk about what each of us has planned the next day so there are no surprises – and I use that time to ask for his help.  I can’t expect him to guess what I need so I have learned to be very specific.”

2. Schedule time for love.
Most entrepreneurial couples complain they have less time together than before.  It is possible to work beside your spouse in the same office all day long and barely speak on a personal level.  How difficult is it to turn off your cell phone and talk a walk with your love?  It is imperative to make it a point to schedule time for your relationship so that the business does not overtake it.  Terry and I plan ahead to sneak away for lunch or to take a break at Starbucks.  We have found if we don’t take the time to schedule in these lunch or coffee dates, then they are less likely to happen as we work to meet deadlines or get a project done.  We haven’t yet been able to master scheduling “regular dates”, but its next on our list of priorities in order to help keep our close relationship.

3. Schedule time for yourself.
It can be a shock when you suddenly have so much time with your spouse.  In your previous life, they left at 7 AM and came home at 6 PM, and then you discussed your day during dinner.  Now you spend most (if not all) of the day with them, and during dinner, there is nothing new to discuss.  Where is the time for you?  Karyn Fagan, Founder of Team Women, tells “We both have hobbies that we love outside of the house so we have that important away time.”

Terry and I certainly have a long way to go as an Entrepreneurial Couple, but we have made it through our entrepreneurial “honeymoon” period.  Each day, we work together to reach our goals and dreams.  We understand when we help each other we will reach our dreams sooner, so we help each wherever its needed!

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5 Tips To Make Your Home-Based Business Not Appear “Homemade”

August 8th, 2009

One of the toughest obstacles we face when working from home is making it appear that we’re not, in fact, working from home. When clients call and there are kids screaming in the background, pets barking and meowing and timers going off for laundry and cooking, it doesn’t appear professional. So, how can we appear more professional?

Tip # 1: Have a clean, professional website with your own domain name.
Do not, under any circumstances, have a “free” website hosted on another domain name with other company’s ads all over the place! This is one of the biggest no-no’s out there! Decide, instead, that in order to appear professional, you must invest in a professional website. If you aren’t skilled in web design, hire someone to do it for you or barter with another home-based business owner who does do web design. Choose a domain name that is closely related to your business’s name.

Tip # 2: Invest in a separate phone line or in a distinctive ring tone for that line.
Most phone companies offer a plan where you can have two or more numbers ringing to one phone line with distinctive rings. It’s usually better to have a separate phone line in your office, in order to avoid after-hours phone calls from clients. This also enables you to “shut the door” on work when you’re not there. Use a professional voicemail message or answering machine message and check the messages often.

Tip # 3: Think about how to display your business address.
How are you going to display your physical location? There are a few different options available. Most home-based business owners will say that they accept meetings by appointment only, to discourage clients from “dropping in” while they’re still in their jammies and haven’t had their morning coffee yet. If you don’t want your customers to know you work from home, two other options are using a P.O. Box or attaching a “Suite” number to your address. If you use a P.O. Box, you will have to give your home address out for packages and anything they want to courier to you, but it does provide anonymity and discourages drop-in visitors. If you attach a suite number to your address in order to make it appear a “business office,” make sure you mention to your postal carrier that you’re running a home-based business and that’s why there’s a different address on there.

Tip # 4: Define your office etiquette rules to your family.
What are the rules going to be for your kids and family members when you’re on the phone or meeting with a client? Are you going to set a timer so they know when you’ll be available? Are you going to have set office hours and not meet with clients outside of those times? Are you going to have a play space in your office? This is especially important if you’re going to have small kids playing nearby (quietly) while you work.

Tip # 5: Invest in professional-quality promotional products and marketing pieces.
Don’t print off business cards from your printer, unless you have a top-of-the-line printer. Invest in professional-quality business cards and brochures. If you can, have some letterhead printed up, too, for contracts, letters to prospective clients and any correspondence that is business-related. If you’re printing promotional products like T-shirts or apparel, coffee mugs, mousepads, etc., check the quality of the products put out by the printer you wish to use. Don’t just “price-hunt,” look around for the best quality and invest in your business.

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